Simple Observation
by Ruby Snidget
Summary: For Lavender and Parvati, two of the most stereotyped students at Hogwarts, trying to prove their bravery and loyalty to their House is a lot of work! The Harry Potter books, told through Lavender and Parvati’s letters, notes, and diaries.
1. Living as Lavender

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Brave

By Ruby Snidget

PG

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Summary: For Lavender and Parvati, two of the most stereotyped and misrepresented students at Hogwarts, trying to prove their worthiness and loyalty to their House is a lot of work! The Harry Potter books, told through Lavender and Parvati's letters, notes, and diaries.

Chapter Summary: In the days before the beginning of school term, and on the train, Lavender confides her exasperation at her parents and sisters, the evilness of her new owl, and her anticipation of her new school to her new diary.

August 27th, 1992

Happy birthday to me! 'Lo, this is Lavender Brown. Hi, there! I am now eleven years old, and in a few days, I'll be a First Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are a diary, a rather pretty blue one, which I got for my birthday [today.] 

I live in a rather nice house with my mum, dad, and two little sisters, Rosemary and Laurel. Rosemary is four years old, and thinks she is the queen of the world [which my parents treat her as, because they're afraid of the middle-child syndrome she might come down with if she isn't praised and pampered enough]. Laurel is almost a year old, and is the most adorable baby girl ever [except when she's colicky and screams the night away, but that's hardly ever. I admit that I don't think she's very cute then.]

As I said before, I am now eleven years old, I have kind of sunshine-y golden blonde hair, and blue eyes. I'm really short, which I hate, because the stupid boys at my Primary Magic School tease me about it. Mum says that pretty soon I'll be much taller than them, but I really, really wish that I were taller than them now, so they would just shut up. Sometimes they just make me want to—

Oh, no! Rosemary is throwing a tantrum downstairs. Again. Really, that's all she ever does. I don't understand how she can do it like she does, because, with all that kicking and screaming and hitting at whoever's in range, it must be very tiring. 

She's really giving me a headache. I best go see what she wants, because no one else seems to be responding, and I can't hear myself think.

August 29th, 1992

AHHHHH! I just want to scream! Mum took me to Diagon Alley today for my school supplies, [nothing like waiting until the last moment] but, of course, Rosemary had to come too. Dad stayed at home with Laurel, though, so that was one less thing to worry about. But, oh my goodness, Rosemary is enough worry to last me until _I_ have children. Now, that's a scary thought.

Well, anyway, we got through the Leaky Cauldron without too much trouble. We did run into Mrs Hominy, which didn't bother me, because she's always been fond of me. But I can tell Mum doesn't like her much. She says she doesn't trust Divination, and Mrs. Hominy is a self-proclaimed Seer. But, all the same, she likes me. And sure enough, when Mum mentioned Hogwarts, I was cooed over.

"You'll be amazing, Lavender, dear! Ever since you were born, you've shown such amazing promise, especially with The Sight. I know you'll do so very well!" she gushed. I was rather enjoying the praise and was a little disappointed when Mum pulled me out of the favourable conversation.

"It was so nice seeing you, Margery, but we really ought to get going." Mum started ushering me through the door in the back. "We're expected home for supper—I don't think Andrew can handle Laurel for longer than that; she really can get a bit out of hand—and we really have much to do."

"Oh, of course, Alice," Mrs. Hominy waved her hand towards the door. "Go on, you've got a lot ahead of you." She turned back to me. "Good luck, Lavender. I have a feeling you may soon find a challenge that far surpasses you alone," she said, in an oddly chilling voice. She peered at me closely, as if measuring me up. I squirmed a bit under her piercing gaze. She straightened up, bid my mum goodbye, and took her leave out into the muggle street. 

I watched after her, feeling odd and a bit confused. What was she on about?

Rosemary interrupted, squealing to Mum that she wanted to look in the pet shop. Mum took her hand, pushed me in front of her, so as to keep an eye on me, and marched us through the door.

I looked around the small back alley, waiting for Mum to open the gate. Nothing really remarkable there at all. Holding on to a fidgeting, impatient Rosemary, Mum counted bricks. Tapping on the last one, she stepped back as the dark red bricks rearranged themselves into a doorway.

Mum pushed me into Diagon Alley, a bit rougher than necessary, really, and dragged Rosemary after her. I guess that even just a few minutes of speaking with Mrs. Hominy puts her off, because she certainly seemed in a terrible mood. 

All through my robe fitting at Madame Malkin's, she grasped Rosemary's hand tightly, scowling, thin-lipped, and most obviously angry. Rosemary could, apparently, tell that Mum was upset, so she mercifully kept quiet.

I don't know why she got so upset over Mrs. Hominy, but she was upset. She cooled off considerably after we got into the pet shop. I guess nobody can look at all the adorable animals [although some aren't very cute] and stay too mad for long.

After a bit of browsing, and a bit of whining and wheedling on Rosemary's part, we left with a small snowy owl for me to take to school ["So as to keep in touch with your family," Mum said] and two kittens. 

Our last cat died a couple months ago, but no one really cared, because he was ugly, old, and mean. Mum said we needed a new housecat, and asked me to pick out one that I liked, but then Rosemary asked, "Won't the kitty wouldn't be lonely without a kitty friend?" Mum tried to say that the kitty wouldn't be lonely, but Rosemary refused to listen. After a few minutes of Rosemary repeating, "I know, but won't the kitty be lonely when everyone's at school/we're on vacation/we go play outside?" Mum finally surrendered, I guess figuring that taking care of two cats would be easier than arguing with Rosemary. I would have to agree.

We walked out into Diagon Alley. I was carrying my owl's cage. She was ruffling her feathers and glaring at me indignantly with her oversized grey eyes. Hey, was it _my_ fault that the stupid cage was too big for me to carry? No. But I'm still slapping myself over the wonderful choice of owl. Of course, I pick the one that has an attitude.

Mum was carrying the two cat baskets. Rosemary was whining that she wanted to carry one, too, but Mum knew better than that. Good thing, too, because after Rosemary gets tired of carrying something, she sets it down and forgets about it. I think we all remember a bit too well when Mum let her carry a basketful of rather expensive Transfiguration Aids. She had no dessert for a month after that episode.

After a couple minutes of pushing ourselves through the crowded streets, we reached Flourish and Blotts. I found it all rather boring, so I let Mum find all my schoolbooks. I kept myself busy be paging through an impressive volume of Greek History. The stories a bit more incredible than the Muggle Myths, but much more believable. For us, anyway. I suppose if a Muggle managed to come across that particular book, they'd say it was ridiculous nonsense, because Wizarding Greek Myths are actually history, not fictional stories, and are told as such.

I did find a couple good names for our new pets. It was a toss-up between Persephone, Helen, or Alcmene for my owl, but I settled on Helen, because it was much easier to say than the other two were. For the cats, I intended to name them Circe and Calypso, two ancient sorceress-goddesses, and thought that it would fit them best.

Rosemary, however, didn't approve of the names for the cats, and we got into an argument about it. Mum straightened it out by naming the black-and-silver one Demi, and the grey-and-blue one Blueberry.

After we left Flourish and Blotts, we went into the Broomstick Supply store, because Mum needed a new broom seat for Laurel. I looked at a few of the newer broomsticks, including the Nimbus 2000, which I guess was pretty neat. I really don't care for Quidditch, though, so nothing really interested me that much. I'd much rather watch than play.

There were a lot of kids ogling the Nimbus, so after I'd had my peek at it, I squeezed out to find Rosemary and Mum.

Well, it was easy enough. Mum was arguing, rather a bit louder than necessary, really, with a set-looking clerk.

"What do you mean, I have to pay for it? I most certainly will not!"

"Miss, if your kid broke that merchandise, you're going to have to pay for it," the clerk explained tersely, not attempting to feign politeness.

"That is NOT my child!" Mum hissed at the discourteous clerk. I peeked around Mum, who I had quietly approached from behind. Sure enough, the little girl whose hand was grasped by the nasty clerk, she was maybe five or six, was not Rosemary.

The clerk didn't even have the humility to look ashamed. 

"Well, what was I to think? The little brat was standing by you."

Mum grabbed the little girl by the hand, yanking her away. "It was an accident. She's just a kid. There's no need for insults and names to be thrown." She crouched down until she was eye-level with the little girl, who was near tears. "Honey, do you know where your mum is? Are you lost?"

The little girl sniffled and shook her head. She pointed over to where a witch—her mother—stood over an older boy who was goggling over the Nimbus 2000.

"Well, maybe you ought to go back to your mummy. It's okay." The little girl sniffed again, pulled her sweater sleeve across her tear-streaked face, nodded, and scurried off towards her mother.

"Well." Mum straightened up and glared at the clerk. "I see that my business is apparently not welcome here, so I shall take it elsewhere," Mum said shortly. She marched out of the store, Rosemary obliviously skipping along behind her. Oh, my goodness, it was so embarrassing standing in that store. Everyone looked at me. I wanted to run out and yell at Mum never to embarrass me like that again. I walked out after them, tucking my head to my chest and shielding my face with my hand. Utterly horrified and embarrassed. 

I was on the verge of tears throughout the rest of that hellish shopping trip. Mum got in a few more rows with salespeople, during which I hid outside. I didn't know if I was angry or upset. But I wanted to yell at Mum. A lot. And loud, too. Maybe even send her a howler, just so she'd never do that again.

Of course, I didn't yell at my mother, but I dreamed about how good it would feel all day. But, of course, that wasn't really possible, and when that realisation confronted me, I sulked. I sulked all through the Potions Shop and my wand fitting. Mr. Ollivander was creepy, and I was glad I found a good wand within the first five minutes.

After we were done with all the shopping, Mum bought us all a cone from Florean Fortescue's. My anger cooled off a bit after that, but then Rosemary accidentally dumped her entire chocolate and marshmallow ice cream cone down the front of my robes and into my lap. We came straight home after that. And I'm still a bit mad, even though it was an accident. I'm much less angry after writing in this, because earlier I was contemplating shoving Rosemary, in her dainty little lemon-yellow robes, into the muddy ditch in front of our house.

I'm thinking it was probably a good idea not to.

I probably won't be writing for a while, because we're going to visit Grammie tomorrow [kill me, please. I mean, I love Grammie, but her house is so unimaginably boring!], and then I'm off to Hogwarts! Very exciting and all, don't get me wrong, but I expect it'll be exhausting.

And I have come to the conclusion that Helen is an evil, evil, demon owl, bent on the idea driving me mad.

September 1st, 1992

Ok, so I lied a bit. I thought I wouldn't be writing for at least a week, with classes starting and all, but I didn't take into account the eternity-plus-an-hour train ride. Parvati, Padma, and Mandy are asleep. Well, Padma is asleep, Mandy and Parvati are just out in the clouds somewhere. And I'm bored straight out of my mind.

Perhaps I'd better explain who they are [I'm leaving out the trip to Grammie's on purpose, because it was dull and uneventful, just like always.] Parvati and Padma Patil are twins. They're both really pretty, with cream-and-coffee skin and dark eyes and shiny black hair. Parvati is a bit more outgoing than Padma, but they're both very nice. Padma is seems bit shy and very timid at first, but she can be—er—rather insane when she gets comfortable around you. Mandy Brocklehurst is very nice as well. She has very dark hair—at first I thought it was black—but when the light hits it right, you can tell it's not black, but a very dark, deep red, almost like red wine or blood. She has grey eyes and a pale complexion, and looks a bit Gothic. She isn't, though. Well, at least she doesn't dress anything like it if she is, which I doubt. When she got on the train and came into my compartment, she was wearing electric blue robes with a vivid, fluorescent green tank top and jeans underneath. She had artfully left her robes hang open so you could see. I thought it was pretty cool.

She was very upbeat and chatty, and in no time was prattling on about which House she was hoping for (Ravenclaw), how unfair it was that broomsticks went against school code, how First Years should at least be allowed to try out for House teams, and how the uniforms were a bit drab. It wasn't very hard to keep up, because, given the opportunity, I can chatter and talk quick as anyone.

Parvati and Padma came in a bit later, right before the train left the station. They were breathing heavily and dragging their trunks behind them.

"This…seat (huff) taken?" Parvati asked, gasping for breath, leaning over forward with her hands on her knees. Taking another great breath, she stood upright and flipped her long rope of hair over her shoulder.

"Sorry about that," she apologised, shaking her head. "My mum thought we'd be too early if we left on time, so we had to run to catch the train. She still doesn't quite understand Muggle traffic." She smiled, revealing straight white teeth. "Oh, I'm Parvati Patil, by the way, and this is my twin sister, Padma."

Padma smiled vaguely, waved, and voiced a timid hello.

"I'm Lavender Brown." I self-consciously brushed some hair that had fallen out of my braided pigtails aside. "It's nice to meet you." I smiled, hoping I didn't look or sound too stupid.

"And I'm Mandy Brocklehurst," Mandy popped in, smiling idiotically.

"Nice to meet you!" Parvati announced cheerfully. She set down a small purple purse by the seat next to me and— 

Sorry. Someone came into the compartment. And I found that instead of an owl in my cage, there's a cat. Demi, our new black-and-silver kitten is in it, instead of Helen. And I have no doubts on who switched them. Give you one guess. Of course that would be Rosemary. So now I'm owl-less [but Rosemary'll get in trouble, so it's worth it. And I didn't like Helen much anyway.] 

Oh, and about the visitor. She was kind of rude. And mean, too. She just flung open the compartment door and announced, "Have any of you seen a toad hopping around anyplace? Neville Longbottom's misplaced one and we can't find it anywhere." She talked pretty quickly, but I could have gone faster. But, I don't know, she seemed a bit well, snippish. As if this were such a bother to her to come in here. That we ought to have just read her mind while she was still down the corridor, appeared out in the corridor and shouted, "There's no toad in here!" so as to save her time. And perhaps we ought to cover our heads with pillowcases so she doesn't have to look at us either! When she saw me writing, she bustled over and peeked into this diary before I could put it away. 

"Oh, is that a diary? I keep one too," she said, peering over my words.

"Yeah. This is my first. I just got it a few days ago. A birthday gift, from my Mum's friend." I smiled, trying to be friendly. I closed the book and shoved it into my book pack. Maybe first impressions weren't everything.

"Oh, well _I've_ been keeping one ever since I was six. When I first learned to read and write, my Mum got me one for a present. I write in mine every single day."

Okay, was it just me, or did she seem to be desperate to outdo me at anything? It's just a diary, not a competition!

Just then, a squat, round boy peeped in from behind the door.

"He-Hermione? Is my toad in here? Or should I keep looking?"

"No, Neville. Why don't you go check the baggage compartment? And why don't you," she pointed to me, and indicated that I should get up, "go and help him."

"Oh, uh, okay…" I said vaguely. At the same time I was wondering, since when was I included into this goose hunt? Sure, I would have volunteered to help, but that girl—Hermione, I guess her name is—just ordered me. Didn't even bother asking my name, just "Hey, you! Help him. I'm far too important and busy to go to the baggage compartment!"

I got up and followed Neville, I guess it is, to the front of the train. Pulling open the door, I walked into the dark, musty smelling train car. Lots of creepy, glowing eyes peered at me from the dim, windowless compartment. Everybody's pets, apparently.

"Well, just look around a bit. Trevor likes to hide in corners. Oh, and thanks for helping me," Neville said, nervously peering around the corners.

I smiled, glad that _someone _appreciated my efforts.

"No problem," I said, poking through a pile of luggage. Now, secretly, I felt that this was the last place the toad would be. Well, it probably was here at some time, but with all the cats and owls about, it wasn't here for long.

Sure enough, we searched for about a half an hour, and we found nothing. I was sneezing a lot from the dust.

I figured that while I was there I might as well check on Helen, since I had seen her cage sitting on top of a pile.

But when I pulled up the black cover we had used while walking through the muggle part of the train station, Helen wasn't there. Demi, my personal favourite kitten, was sitting in the bottom of the cage, mewing pitifully.

"Oh, no, Demi!" I whispered under my breath. But I'd put Helen in there last night! And then I let Rosemary play with her this morning, right before we left, and—and then I left the room! I was mentally kicking myself. Why had I not bothered to check!?

Now that I think about it, I like Demi much better, and Mum'll send Helen with post tomorrow anyway, so I'll get both, and Rosemary will get into trouble! Ha ha ha ha ha!

Well, after I discovered the pet-switch, me and Neville left the baggage compartment, me carrying Demi, and him sadly empty-handed. He thanked me in the corridor, and then went on, opening doors and asking after a toad.

The snack-cart witch came by right after I got in the compartment, so the four of us all pitched in to buy a ton of stuff to share. My favourite sweet is the gum. It fills the room up with such pretty blue and purple bubbles, and it tastes like peppermint, one of my favourite flavours.

Since then, mostly we've been just chatting idly, the topics varying from school to pets [they all loved Demi, and she quite enjoyed the attention] to our families. 

Parvati and Padma are purebloods, like me. Mandy's half-and-half. Her mum [who she lives with; her parents are divorced] is a witch, but her dad's a muggle. Mandy says he never adjusted to his wife and daughter being witches, so they divorced, and she hasn't seen him since she was five.

None of us care about families or blood, so we don't hold prejudice against that kind of thing. 

I have a feeling it may be a while till we get to school. And it just occurred to me that I've never thought about my House preference. Not once! But after hearing it all, I think perhaps that I'd like to be in Gryffindor, but really, I don't see myself as terribly brave. More likely I'll be a Ravenclaw, or maybe a Slytherin. I do like to have my way a lot, and I want to be a great, powerful witch someday. Slytherin just can't be as bad as all that I've heard, anyway. But really, my first pick would have to be Gryffindor.

I think I'm going to cut out for a while, explore the train, meet some new people. Parvati said she'd come if I went, and I'm terrifically bored, so I think now is a good time.

A bit later, maybe an hour or two, still September 1st 

You'll never guess what I've heard from some other kids! Harry Potter, THE Harry Potter, is on the train! And he's going to be in my year! In my classes! Maybe even in my HOUSE!

We heard this first from a couple of second year Gryffindors in the compartment next to ours, and then two Third Year girls. One was a Ravenclaw and the other girl was either Gryffindor or Slytherin. I can't really remember. All I remember is that they were nice.

I wanted to go find his compartment and talk to him, but when we got there, I saw that Hermione girl go in. And I wasn't about to stay in the same room with her, even if it were to meet…someone very important. 

Oh, THANK GOD! There was just an announcement. We'll be in Hogsmeade station in fifteen minutes! I better go change my robes! I can't wait!

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Please remember, reviews are good manners. Please don't forget to take the time to leave one. Thank you!


	2. Parvati Has Her Say

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Brave

By Ruby Snidget

PG

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Summary: For Lavender and Parvati, two of the most stereotyped and misrepresented students at Hogwarts, trying to prove their worthiness and loyalty to their House is a lot of work! The Harry Potter books told through Lavender and Parvati's letters, notes, and diaries.

Chapter Summary: During the first few days of school, Parvati and Lavender meet their new housemates, go to classes, get scared witless by Professor Snape, nearly kill themselves flying, and learn that turning matches into needles is a very complicated and dangerous thing, especially if you are sitting right in front of Neville Longbottom…

Author's Note: This chapter has been loitering around my saved files for months, and I figure I just better send 'er off. After that, er, just acknowledgement of reviews. They are cherished and appreciated, each and every one! Well, start from the top of the list…

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Fetch- Um, sorry, there will be absolutely **NO SLASH** in this fic. Nothing against it or anything, but this fic is sticking right to the books; no straying from the canon is planned. Sorry about this, but I'm going to try to stay as true to the books as I can, and there is no indication that Parvati and Lavender are anything more than friends. The fact is that if I made it slash, it would create a problem with the Yule Ball in the fourth book. I know, I know, that's a long way ahead, but I have to plan ahead to make sure none of my fic contradicts the books. I hope you'll continue to read, and if you're looking for slash, I've heard that Rhysenn and Cat Samwise are rather good slash writers, so you may want to try them. Cheers! 

Well, that went a bit long, but shall we continue?

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Jelsemium- Thank you for your kind words! I figured that people need to see that you can't just cast someone in a role when you know so little about them. People's personalities are so much more complex than that, and I hope this fic might help make that clearer. 

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Blue Ice- Yes, it is about time, isn't it? There are so many underdeveloped and stereotyped characters in the Harry Potter books, and I hope that some of them can be elevated to "Blaise Zabini" heights, as seen in the "Draco" series by Cassandra Claire. Thank you so much!

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Jordyn- Yes, so very little is known about Lavender, other than she's in Gryffindor, she likes Divination, and she goes to the Yule Ball with Seamus Finnegan. How some people define her as a ditzy moron from that little bit of information annoys me. Hey, did she or did she not get into Gryffindor? The girl's got something going for her! Here's the chapter you asked for, hope you enjoy it!

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JazzPizza- Thanks for the compliment! I enjoy writing, and I love it when people take the time to notice the work that went into it. Thank you very much, and I hope this chapter works for you! Oh, and I adore your name! Very original!

September 1st, 1992

Dear Mum and Dad,

Padma and me got here okay. We're at Hogwarts, and nothing bad has happened (yet). I'm sure she's writing a letter too, but in case it's slipped her mind, she's gotten into Ravenclaw, just like you two. Bet you're proud. 

I, on the other hand, am in Gryffindor, like Divya. Too bad she left last year. It would have been nice to have an older cousin around to share a house with. But I've made some friends already. Lavender Brown, who's in Gryffindor with me, is nice and fun to hang out with.

Pansy is in Slytherin, and I'm really trying to get along with her, I promise I am, but it is just so hard!

Well, Lavender and I share our dorm with just one other girl. Her name's Hermione Granger, but she's not very sociable. She came in on our train compartment earlier on, and was really a bit rude to us. She's pretty bossy, and she ordered Lavender to go help some boy we didn't know find his lost pet. Lavender is a very non-confrontational person, so she just got up and went. I think you know I wouldn't have done that. I would've gotten all defensive and asked her why, and probably ended up in an argument, because she seems to be every bit as stubborn as I am. 

Lavender and me have tried to talk to her, been very friendly and all, but she just doesn't seem interested in making friends with us. She's always rather short with us when she answers our questions, if she even answers them at all. When we were all setting up our belongings and making sure we hadn't forgotten anything, she completely ignored us. I think this is more than a bit rude, but maybe she's just shy. I hate to think that I will be sharing a dorm with her for the next seven years if she is so unpleasant and stuck up.

Well, it's getting rather late, and we have classes tomorrow, so I want to get enough sleep. I'll go to bed now, Mum, so you don't have worry about me not getting enough sleep and doing poorly in my classes. G'Night.

Love,

Parvati

September 1st, 1992

Ah, nothing better than writing in a new diary for the first time! I just finished my old one last week, and I had this one on hand, but I wanted to keep it clean until today, so it would be started on a very important day in my life. First day at Hogwarts! Actually, classes don't start until tomorrow, but we're still here. In fact, I'm sitting on my bed in Gryffindor Tower. I can't believe I got in! Deep down, I think I really wanted to be in this house, and I sort of knew I would be, but I pretended that I was hoping for Ravenclaw, because Mum and Dad were both in that house.

Well, it's nice to be here, since Lavender is in here, too. She's over there on her bed, right next to mine. Mine's in the middle of the three, so Hermione's bed's next to mine, too. She's not here though. I've no clue where she's gone. Probably still downstairs.

Lavender is such a wonderful person, and I think we're going to be really good friends. She's very chatty, but like I said in the letter to Mum and Dad, very laid-back. She doesn't seem the type who enjoys getting into fights with people. Which is a good thing, because I hate fights.

She has a diary, as well. I think she's writing in it now, in fact.

Well, perhaps I might add some information about our other (male) housemates. First of all, Harry Potter shares the house with us. I haven't spoken to him yet, but he seems nice, not stuck up and full of himself as one might expect from a child star, although he did grow up with muggles. Then there's another boy who he sat with at the Feast. Very tall, with vivid red hair. Ron, Weasley, I believe it is. He's nice, if a bit short-tempered. I had a few words with him on the train platform at King's Cross, and then again right outside the compartment we were in.

There are three other boys in the house, as well. Dean Thomas, he's muggle-born, and likes football (Some Muggle sport, apparently. I've heard of it somewhere, but I don't quite understand what it means or what they do, but I suppose I will eventually. Dean seems determined to educate people with magical parentage about his one true love, a black-and-white checked ball.). I sat across from him at supper. Then there's Seamus Finnegan. He's half-and-half, like Mandy (who I haven't spoken about yet, sorry.) He's a bit loud, but nice all the same. The last boy is Neville Longbottom, the boy who lost his toad on the train earlier. He did find it, by the way. Somehow it made its way into the boat he was in. Not quite sure how it managed that; maybe it's one of those hard-to-lose toads they sell in all the pet shops for forgetful people. They have relocation charms cast on them, or something like that, so that if you lose them, they'll (eventually) come back.

Anyway, Neville just doesn't seem very Gryffindor-ish. He's very timid and shy, and seems like he'd be more at home in Hufflepuff. He's nice enough, though. He always seems afraid that he's going to upset someone and get himself beaten up. Well, that's the impression I got, anyway.

Oh, I said something earlier about Mandy Brocklehurst. She's in Ravenclaw with Padma. We met her on the train earlier. She was in the car with Lavender, and we all got along very well. Mandy's really stylish; her mum is some senior president executive of something-or-other at Gladrags Wizardwear, so she always knows "the style" and can get the clothes for free. Mandy's already offered to help us with makeup and things if we should need it. She and Padma get along very well, which is convenient, as they're housemates.

Well, things are going well so far, I'm happy with my house and housemates (if I could only make friends with Hermione! She seems like she could be a good friend if we got past all that façade) and am actually looking forward to my classes tomorrow!

That's pretty odd, as usually I dread the thought of summer's end. Well, I guess this is new, it's not the village school with a bunch of little kids; this is Hogwarts, and I'm going to get a proper magical education! 

Well, perhaps I ought to be going now. It's getting a bit late. Hermione's just crawled into bed, and Lavender's shut off her light. One last thing. Tomorrow, I'm going to write a note to Hermione. A friendly note, to be precise. Hopefully she'll get the hint that Lavender and me are more than willing to be friends with her, if she'll just give us the opportunity. Just writing it down, so I don't forget, because, knowing me, I'll have forgotten about it before I fall asleep.

Parvati

September 2nd, 1992

I wrote the note! I actually remembered. Actually, I thought about it all last night, and composed it in my head before I fell asleep. I'm going to copy it in here before I give it to her. Oh, I'm writing this at breakfast. Lavender and I got up way too early, so we have loads of time to kill. We actually wrote it together, and I think it's very good. Here it is!

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Dear Hermione,

Hey! You'll probably find this during History of Magic, or maybe Transfiguration. If you are in Transfiguration or Potions, then **STOP: DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER! PUT AWAY QUICKLY!**

This is Parvati and Lavender. We're sorry about that. We've heard from the older students that Professors Snape and McGonagall don't take kindly to note reading or general fooling around. Okay, so now we're in either History of Magic with Professor Binns (who, we've been told, is completely oblivious to everything, so it's safe to read) or a free period of some sort.

Well, what I'm writing about is about you and us. Since we are the only three female Gryffindors, we thought we ought to stick together. Do you want to sit with us during supper? And afterwards, we're going to meet Parvati's sister Padma and her friend Mandy (Brocklehurst). We're hoping you sit with us, because we'd really like to get to know you better, so us three Gryffindor girls can be a trio of best friends! Sounds cool, huh? Well, see you later! Bye!

Love,

Lavender and Parvati

Lavender is going to stick it in her book sack while she's eating breakfast. Oh, I hope she accepts the invitation!

Ooh, yummy! This food is really good! Toast with strawberry jam's my favourite breakfast food! I'm going to put this diary away, so I can eat without worrying about dirtying up the pages with sticky jam, toast crumbs, and pumpkin juice stains.

Parvati

September 2nd, 1992- Lunch

Well, really! I just got finished reading what Hermione wrote back to me and Lavender in a note. It's_ so mean_, and it didn't need to be. I'm going to copy it in.

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Lavender and Parvati

No, thank you. I have more than enough homework and reading I need to catch up on (We've only been to THREE classes, how much can she possibly have?)_ and as you two only seem interested in talking about clothes, boys, and other frivolous nonsense of that sort, you won't be entertained enough in the library. I'm sure it's in the interest of everyone's valuable time if I passed on your invitation._

Cordially,

Hermione Granger

Isn't that unnecessarily mean? She didn't _have _to comment on our interests like they weren't important! And we don't just talk about clothes and boys; we're perfectly intelligent and capable! What is her probl-- Oopsies. I just ripped a hole in the parchment; I was pressing so hard with my quill. Well, I'm angry. She was just downright mean! We were trying to be nice and friendly, and she goes off and insults us. She acts like we're two dumb kids who are unworthy to talk to her. Oh, well! If she wants to stay friendless, that's fine by me!

Well, I'm going to get off the subject now, and as far as I'm concerned, Hermione and her friends, or lack thereof, is not my problem anymore. She can be as lonely and miserable as she wants! I don't care!

Well, I've been to Herbology, History of Magic, and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Herbology's pretty fun, at least now, when we're far away from all the scary, dangerous plants in the other greenhouses. Basically what we learned were the rules and how we were expected to behave. History of Magic is one--no, two words. Boring and BORING. Professor Binns is a ghost, but I've heard he was just as lame even before he was dead. All he does is talk, droning on in an endless monotone until I'm ready to stab myself with my quill to escape the boring-ness. It sounds really melodramatic to "stab myself with a quill," like it's a line out of one of the trashy romance novels Mum leaves around, but it's the truth. By the end of the lesson, Lavender was sporting a new hairstyle, compliments of yours truly, as was I, and I also had covered my parchment, hands, and forearms with doodles in a colourful array of…well, colours. I tried scrubbing them off after class, but the inks are, apparently, long-lasting, so I have to keep my hands in my sleeves for the rest of the day, or at least until I find some easy spell to remove it. Next time I'm bringing a sketchpad.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was…well, a bit odd. Professor Quirrell stammers and stutters so much that you can barely make him out sometimes, and it almost seems like he's afraid of us, he's so skittish and weird when we ask a question or speak to him. And he wears that awful purple turban, plus he and his classroom smell very strongly of garlic. It's all just really creepy. But, really, the class itself is astonishingly average. We go out of the book, so it's pretty predictable and not really all _that_ bad. Although my hair still smells like garlic, and that was my first class of the day… 

Well, we have Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions after lunch. Transfiguration sounds exciting; I can't wait to go to that class. Charms sounds interesting as well, but Potions…well, I guess the class itself would be fascinating, but Professor Snape, Potions' Master, is very intimidating. He's also Head of Slytherin House, and he doesn't like Gryffindors much. I've heard all sorts of awful things about him from the older students, and I am _not_ looking forward to that class.

I suppose I'd better get eating; Transfiguration begins in less than twenty minutes. It sounds very exciting. Can't wait. 

Parvati

September 8th, 1992

Oh, I'm sorry I haven't written in forever. It has been a very _long_ week. Just been so busy, with homework and classes and such, didn't really have time to write at all. But now that I've got the hang of the layout of the castle and grounds, I've found classes faster and had more free time, so I should be able to write more often. But…

Oh. My. God. Today has been **_BAD!_** Capitalised, italicised, underlined, and bold. Very bad. Well, everything was fine before lunch. But when our first Flying Lessons began, everything began to take a nosedive. Okay, that was a bad pun. Forgive me, please. Charms was okay, and Transfiguration was just a bit less okay than Charms, but Flying and Potions were both scary!

On the first day of Potions class, Harry Potter, well, he got a bit uppity with Professor Snape, to say the least. I've heard that Snape doesn't like anybody in a house other than Slytherin, but he especially hates Gryffindors. Lovely. And he's already showed that side of his persona. We've lost a fair few House points in that class, as he's always finding something wrong with the Gryffindors' work, myself included. We just don't seem to be able to do anything right.

Speaking of that stupid class, I have to finish off an essay that I've been effectively procr procrist procrat well, been putting off all evening. I really should finish it, and it's hanging around in a very nagful sort of way in the back of my mind, so I suppose I ought to get on it.

Parvati

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